Over the Friendship Bridge that connects Thailand to Burma, there is a place called Myawaddy. Over the last several months I have been able to venture over into Myawaddy and through a variety of connections came upon this village. I'm not sure if it has a name or not, but we like to call it "the Brick Village" since all the people who live here are migrant workers making bricks from the land.
It has been fun going to visit and reaching out to the villagers who all speak Burmese! I feel a little useless since I can't even use my Thai skills, but it has motivated me to learn a little of Burmese too. Sometimes we have a friend translate, but after all my years of travel I guess I've become content just sitting and "being" with people- playing with their kids, using ridiculous charades, and smiling…A LOT.
The beautiful kids below are part of a family I got to know on my last trip. I probably hung out with them in their hut for a few hours- they laughed at me, I played with them, we all took photos, they made me coffee, and their mother decided I needed to take a nap and lent me a pillow 🙂 (IT WAS SO HOT THAT DAY!)
Every time we go to the village, they try to get us to go swimming in the river that separates them from Thailand. They lend us "longees" which are basically sarongs that they bathe in and we go down to swim with the kids. Its pretty fun, minus all the trash floating by…not the cleanest water source I've ever swam in!
Here's Amy Duncan playing with my little friend.
Its kind of wild seeing all the young kids running around free and even these little guys left unattended down by the water! I guess the older kids must be really responsible, but its so different from being in America!
A really popular game in Burma is Tecraw (not sure at all how to spell it). I had fun trying to catch some crazy shots while some of the older guys in the village played around. One of the guys had to step out so I "subbed" for a while and it was hilarious- I wish I had pictures of that! I got a little bit of "respect," but my skills were still nowhere near the action below…I also don't think that women play very often so I'm sure it was entertaining.
This little one was adorable. She kept coming to find me throughout the day. Its little faces like hers that beckon me back at any chance I can get! My passport is slowly filling with stamps to MYANMAR as I have to go through an immigration point to go visit the village. Four stamps a day- YIKES!
Looking forward to going back to visit again in about a week or so! Also, hoping to move to Mae Sot, Thailand in January so I will be just right across the border from Myawaddy. I have an exciting vision for the future to help start a drop-in center for street kids in a location where kids from both sides of the border can benefit. Hopefully these kids from my favorite brick village will be able to come as well. Dreaming Big! 🙂
